Medium severity · published Aug 4, 2023
CVE-2023-38686
Sydent is an identity server for the Matrix communications protocol
5.3
CVSS
0.3%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
Sydent is an identity server for the Matrix communications protocol. Prior to version 2.5.6, if configured to send emails using TLS, Sydent does not verify SMTP servers' certificates. This makes Sydent's emails vulnerable to interception via a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack. Attackers with privileged access to the network can intercept room invitations and address confirmation emails. This is patched in Sydent 2.5.6. When patching, make sure that Sydent trusts the certificate of the server it is connecting to. This should happen automatically when using properly issued certificates. Those who use self-signed certificates should make sure to copy their Certification Authority certificate, or their self signed certificate if using only one, to the trust store of your operating system. As a workaround, one can ensure Sydent's emails fail to send by setting the configured SMTP server to a loopback or non-routable address under one's control which does not have a listening SMTP server.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Attack vector
Adjacent
Complexity
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.3% · higher than 18% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
SY
Sydent · Matrix
before 2.5.6 · source: NVD
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-38686
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-38686
Technical Description
https://docs.python.org/3/library/ssl.html?highlight=ssl#security-considerations
Patch
https://github.com/matrix-org/sydent/commit/1cd748307c6b168b66154e6c4db715d4b9551261
Issue Tracking
https://github.com/matrix-org/sydent/pull/574
Release Notes
https://github.com/matrix-org/sydent/releases/tag/v2.5.6
Vendor Advisory
https://github.com/matrix-org/sydent/security/advisories/GHSA-p6hw-wm59-3g5g
Issue Tracking
https://github.com/python/cpython/issues/91826
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5.7
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